Parents question state-mandated testing of disabled daughter

Chuck and Julie Sellars rolled their wheelchair-bound daughter, Burke, before members of the Alamance-Burlington Board of Education last month.

Burke is 13 and severely disabled.

She suffered meningitis — an inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord — when she was three months old, which resulted in cerebral palsy.

Burke is visually and hearing impaired, and can’t speak. She must be fed, bathed and dressed. The child suffers seizures if not properly medicated.

A few weeks ago, Burke underwent two-and-a-half hours of state-mandated, end-of-grade testing at Western Alamance Middle School, where she’s a sixth-grader enrolled in a multi-level handicapped class.

As part of the testing, Burke was asked to paraphrase sentences and pick out words that needed to be capitalized. Again, this from a child who can’t speak or read.

At another point, Burke was instructed to use assisted technology where she was supposed to push a button to indicate her choice of correct answers on a multiple-choice test. No one involved — teachers or her parents — think Burke knew what she was responding to.

At least once her finger stayed compressed long enough to where she punched one “A” after another with no indication she understood what she was doing. In another point in the testing, Burke fell asleep.

“The testing she went through, was just humiliating for a special needs student,” Julie said.

The Sellarses rolled Burke before school board members during the public comments session of their monthly meeting. They voiced their complaints with the testing Burke had to undergo. They wanted board members, the Sellarses said, to see the extent of their daughter’s disabilities.

“We’re talking about a little girl who can’t talk,” Chuck Sellars told board members. “I feel it’s humiliating for her to put her through this testing.”

School board members and administrators don’t usually respond to those who address them during the public comments session. There was an indication that board members sympathized with the Sellarses and their daughter.

Lillie Cox, superintendent of the ABSS, promised the Sellarses that school officials would be contacting them.

“We certainly agree with a lot of your concerns,” she told the couple.

At their residence, the parents emphasized their complaints have little to do with the local school system. Of the education their daughter receives at Western Alamance Middle and Burke’s teachers, Julie said, “We’re so happy.”

Their complaints, the couple said, are with the state that demands that children with disabilities like Burke undergo end-of-grade testing when nothing positive can come of it.

“This is all coming from the state,” Julie said. “It shouldn’t happen. Obviously, disabled kids are in a whole different group.”

Page 2 of 2 - Administrators with the ABSS’s exceptional children’s program didn’t respond to several requests from the Times-News for an interview. An email sent to the newspaper from the school system explained the state-mandated testing given special needs students is part of Extend 1.

“Extend 1 testing is simply a highly-modified version of the state end-of-grade tests designed for students with significant disabilities,” the email read. “Extend 1 still follows state-standard testing protocols, but the tests are designed to measure a student’s understanding of grade-level content with the testing being administered at the student’s grade level ability.”

Mr. and Mrs. Sellars said they weren’t aware that Burke was going to undergo the tests until Julie went to pick her up at school the day they were administered. One of Burke’s teachers told her what took place.

“After seeing what two-and-a-half hours of testing did to her, I knew it wasn’t worth it,” Julie said. “You could tell she was mentally and physically wiped out.”

They said they had a hard time putting their daughter to bed that night because of what she went through during the day. The couple said Burke’s teachers agreed the testing served no worthwhile purpose, and didn’t begin to show what a wonderful child their daughter is.

“They’re not testing what she does know,” Chuck said. “For her, just being here at 13 years of age is a huge accomplishment.”

Julie agreed.

“It’s sad that it reinforces what she can’t do,” she said. “We’d love for her to be able to paraphrase.”

They said Burke’s teachers have their hands full without having to waste hours administering tests on which their students can’t do anything but perform poorly.

“It was miserable for Burke, it was miserable for the teachers,” Julie said.

Before having the opportunity to address board members, the Sellarses observed a recognition session where select students and educators were honored for achievements. It’s a part of each meeting, with different pupils and teachers recognized every month.

The Sellarses said they’d like to see special needs students included, recognized for their accomplishments.

Since appearing before the board of education, the Sellarses have spoken to administrators with the ABSS’s exceptional children’s department. They’re happy, they said, with the feedback they’ve received from those with the school system.

Mr. and Mrs. Sellars said they discussed the matter at length before taking Burke before the board of education. They didn’t take the measure lightly, they said.

“It’s not like we like parading Burke around,” Julie said. “But we didn’t know any other way to get their attention.”